Archive for the 'Money' Category

The Next Salvo in the Internet Sales Tax War

Monday, June 29th, 2009

GovernmentAmazon has an affiliate program where members refer traffic to Amazon for specific products. The members get a percentage of sales made by the referrals. Regular Chad’s News readers will recall that New York state recently decided that an in-state affiliate was sufficient cause to require Amazon to collect state sales taxes on purchases by New York residents. Amazon is challenging this in court as being unconstitutional, but is collecting the tax in the meantime.

Now North Carolina is in the process of changing its tax laws, such that anything purchased through Amazon affiliates in that state would be subject to sales tax. Amazon has preemptively responded to this by shutting down its affiliates in North Carolina. This is an overreaction on the part of Amazon, but the company is very serious about not having to collect sales tax for states in which it doesn’t have a physical presence. State legislatures, however, are reasonably upset over the loss of significant tax revenue to internet retailers. Residents are supposed to voluntarily pay “use taxes” on internet purchases, but that rarely happens.

How this will all end is anyone’s guess. Amazon is up for the fight, however, and the final outcome will be decided in court.

Link #1: http://www.news-record.com/…
(via Slashdot)

Link #2: http://www.news-record.com/…
(via The Consumerist)

Update: Amazon has banned Rhode Island affiliates as well.

Financial Literacy: The $1500 Frisbee

Monday, April 13th, 2009

MoneyOne of the banks in my area is offering a free iPod Shuffle to people opening new accounts. Here’s the story of a guy who chose his bank based on a free gift, and he more than paid for it. All I can say is TANSTAAFL (with thanks to Robert Heinlein).

Link: http://www.getrichslowly.org/…
(via mental_floss)

Visualizing a Trillion Dollars

Monday, March 16th, 2009

MoneyHere’s a trillion dollars put into perspective. And keep in mind these are $100 bills they’re using.

Link: http://www.pagetutor.com/…
(via The Presurfer)

Why the Finance Industry Failed

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

MoneyWired has a technical-but-understandable explanation of the key factor behind the near-collapse of the banking, mortgage, and investment industries.

Link: http://www.wired.com/…
(via The Consumerist)

Free Quiznos Subs - Today Only

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

MoneyQuiznos is giving out a million coupons for free subs, today. Go to this link to sign up for a coupon.

What the Stimulus Bill Means To The Average Joe

Monday, February 16th, 2009

MoneyThe linked article lists the major effects that the stimulus bill will have on everyday Americans. There’s some pretty good stuff. Of note:

  • Tax credits in 2009 and 2010
  • Subsidies for COBRA premiums
  • Higher unemployment payments, for a longer period of time, with less tax
  • New vehicle taxes are deductible

Link: http://consumerist.com/…

Class Action Settlements

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

JudgeJanuary was a good month for class action lawsuit settlements. Some of them have very broad participation requirements.

Grissom’s Dimes

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

SpaceBack in 1961, astronaut Gus Grissom took two rolls of dimes into orbit on the Liberty Bell 7 spaceflight. Upon returning to Earth, Grissom’s capsule sank in deep ocean waters and he was forced to leave the coins behind. The capsule was retrieved in 1999, and the dimes now reside in a space museum.

Link: http://www.associatedcontent.com/…
(via New Scientist)

It’s Only 25 Cents…

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

MoneyYou may be in trouble if your credit card bill has an unexpected 25¢ charge from “Adele Services”.

Link: http://www.boston.com/…
(via Kim Komando)

Wire Transfers Bad, Credit Cards Good

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

ThiefWhen buying over the internet, if the seller asks you to pay via wire transfer, then it’s most likely a scam. This is because wire transfers cannot be canceled or disputed. The best practice is to use a credit card for internet purchases.

Link: http://consumerist.com/…

Free Credit Report is Anything But

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008

MoneyUS citizens are entitled to a free yearly credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies. The official site for this is www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Do not confuse this with www.FreeCreditReport.com, which tries its best to separate you from your money.

Link: http://consumerist.com/…

National Debt Clock Too Small

Friday, October 17th, 2008

MoneyIt’s Y2K all over again! The National Debt Clock no longer has enough digits to accurately display the US national debt. They’ve got a temporary workaround, but we’ll have to wait until next year for a new clock with two additional digits. (God forbid the national debt should ever reach $1 quadrillion in my lifetime…)

Link: [Video] http://www.youtube.com/…
(via digg)

Link: [Non-Video] http://ap.google.com/…